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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



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/AT THE NAME 
OF LOVE 



BY 
MILDRED CRISS McGUCKIN 



TTfoe Iknicfterbocker press 
NEW YORK 

1917 



T53SOS- 
.TUT 3 Is 



Copyrighted 

by 

MILDRED CRISS McGUCKIN 

1917 



NOV 30 1917 



(DGI.A4793J - 



Q£ 



Go 
MY FATHER 

WHOSE COURAGE FILLED MY LIFE WITH LOVE 



CONTENTS 
I— IN THE SUNLIGHT 

PAGE 

Beaumaris ........ 3 

The Rustic ....... 5 

A New Day 8 

Dawn 9 

Sunset 10 

From a Train 11 

Lac Leman 13 

Out of the Far- way . . . . . .14 

Symphony 15 

On the Mountain . . . . . • 17 

October 18 

II— IN THE MOONLIGHT 
Greater than all Else . . . . .21 

To Hear you Laugh ...... 22 

Thy Call 24 

The Letter 26 

A Lover's Song 28 

v 



VI 



Contents 



White One 








PAGE 

29 


Together into Life . 








• 30 


The Singer 








• 32 


Supplication 








• 34 


An Appeal . 








• 35 


Once Thine 








• 37 


How Long? 








• 38 


You .... 








. 40 


One Last Word 








r 41 


When 








• 43 


III— IN THE FIRELIGHT 




At the End a Meeting 


• 47 


The Last Dream 








• 52 


An Old Man's Song . 








• 55 


In the South Wind 








• 56 


The Lost Prayer 








• 57 


To a Cigarette . 








• 58 


Masques 






. 60 


IV— IN THE DARK 




After All ...... 


• 73 


Another Star ...... 


. 74 


Master One 








. 76 



Contents vii 

PAGE 

Suicides ........ 78 

Over All 79 

Retrospect 80 

A Litany 82 

The Deceit of it All 83 

Moods 86 

The Long Road 88 

The Run 89 

Too Much for a Word 91 



I 

In the Sunlight 



BEAUMARIS 

At Beaumaris, 

The low moon's like an orange lantern burning 

golden fire 
That falls in waving shafts of light across the 

Straits; 
All Anglesea 
Is painted lavender and rose; deep twilight wakes 

desire 
Within the blood ; each evening star illuminates 
Love's eyes, 
At Beaumaris. 

At Beaumaris 

On Anglesea, I and my shadow wander 'cross the 
lawn 

Alone, counting the useless imprints of our feet ; 

All Anglesea 

Is made for love and lovers with their dreams of 
life unborn ; 

I cannot bear the salt-scent, or the deep sea- 
beat: 

I go 

From Beaumaris. 

3 



4 Beaumaris 

From Anglesea 

I seek the heather-hills of Wales, and build in 
Beddgelert 

A little house of crumbling stone to hide my 
age; 

And Beaumaris 

Will live for me in dreams of love until my last 
sunset 

Turns gray: one star o'er Snowdon in my heri- 
tage 

To Beaumaris 

On Anglesea, 



THE RUSTIC 

They never stop! Those half-mad motorists, 
that run 

Through countryside, by-lane, and hill. Speed- 
ing 

From cities reeking with their toil, they miss the 
sun, 

Mist-veiled across the low-lands. Still heed- 
ing 

Naught, they miss shadow-clouds blowing across 
the hill. 

They never stop to heed the stars. They miss 
the song 

Of sleepy birds calling their mates. Their 
lights 

Flash on, on, ever on, like drunken eyes that 
long 

For rest. Their throbbing motors drown the 
night's 

Song of the woodland brook and drowsy whip- 
poor-will ; 

They miss the blackish blue of silent pools that 
lie 

5 



6 The Rustic 

Shadowed and rippled by the willow's edge; 
They're, blind to feather clouds that breast an 

opal sky, 
Or silken meadow grass, and mossy ledge 
Where aged turtles basque, and air their rounded 

shells. 
And heedless of all living save themselves, they 

speed 
On past my garden hedge, their cruel wheels 
Crush down my animals, leaving them there to 

bleed, 
IndifFrent to their lives, or how it feels ! 
God grant that they, these puny great men, find 

their hells. 
I, just a stupid farmer, sleeping out my years 
Of solitude, know more of life than they; 
I have been nearer God, tasted his smiles and 

tears, 
And known the majesty of Faith. The day 
And night, all varying, are given men to spend 
Close to the heart of things; alive to each 

appeal 
That comes from scented rose or rarer flower, 
Responding to the touch, the looks of love that 

steal 
From creatures less intelligent, whose power 
Is hindered by the lack of speech. So to the end, 



The Rustic 7 

I will find far more meaning in the scheme of 

things 
Than they who hurry past not heeding life, 
Or knowing half the lasting joy that stillness 

brings, 
The beauty of love children. See my wife 
With love all through the years aglow in her dear 

eyes, 
No sad estrangement, born of crowded days, 
Has marred our happiness. And as I see 
The revelers pass by in haste, so strange their 

ways, 
I wonder what they seek, what destiny. 
Have they so much who all life's little things 

despise? 



A NEW DAY 

See o'er the wine-red sunrise, star-light is fading 
'way; 
Amethyst mists are drifting, drifting out to 
the sea ; 
Hear through the dune grass swaying, morning 
winds greet the day, 
Fragrant their breath from night dews' linger- 
ing witchery. 

Feel in the warm light creeping softly across the 
lawn, 
Life to a world of creatures rising from out 
their sleep : 
Whisper in prayer "Good morning," unto an- 
other dawn ; 
Go to the merry, laughing; stop with the sad 
to weep. 



DAWN 

The moon is lost in the mist of morn ; 

The stars are falling to sleep ; 
Salt-laden winds in the cool gray dawn 

Are wafted ashore from the deep ; 
Life-dreams are born to vanish and die 

As the sun casts a diamond-path o'er the sea 
Pearl tinted vapours awake in the sky 

With shadows of dreams to be. 



SUNSET 

Still seas; gray shadows drifting from the land; 

Long lines of dead waves foaming on the sand ; 

A greenish swell rolls in, outlined against the 
spray, 

And on the sky-line, just one sail drifting away 

To banks of fog that move in from the East : 

Low dunes reflect the rose of sunset skies; 

The sands turn burnished gold, lavender lies 

Beneath the crests of curling waves. The sand- 
snipes trace 

Their tiny footprints, curving, twisting like fine 
lace, 

Back to their nests on salted bugs to feast. 

The dying wind drops down beyond the sun; 

Silence o'er all; a sense of all things done 

Comes with the waking stars. Long paths of 
warm gold light 

Fade from the glowing sky, and stealthily the 
night 

Wraps in its mantle weary man and beast. 



IO 



FROM A TRAIN 

Fields of green, dotted with yellow mustard 

flower, 
High banks lined with clinging fern, 
Bogs, and half-burned woodlands, farms that 

nestle in a 
Clearing, brackish bays that turn 
Lazily throughout the marshlands, sandy 

stretches 
Bare except for stunted pines, 
Now a wheat field's feather surface, now a 

swamp of 
Tangled roots, and wild fruit vines, 
Then a cloud of smoke that blurs the landscape, 

then a 
Whistle's shriek, that dulls the grind 
Of steel wheels on the track, no sound from the 

outside 
Country racing on behind — 
Now a pine-tree thicket carpeted with mosses, 
Now a long straight roadway 
Stretching to a patch of bright sky, o'er the 

quiet 

ii 



i2 From a Train 

Blue-gray water of a bay, 

Now a town with weather-beaten roofs and 
ugly 

Yards clustered in the sun, 

Then a fog, and through the whiteness, wires and 
poles all 

Run a race that's never won. 

Endless grind, and grind, and grind of wheels, 
endless smoke, 

Endless passing out of sight, 

Now the dusk, the round sun sinking in a cloud- 
less 

Sky that quickly turns to night, 

Now the tunnel's blackness, many shuffling feet 
that 

Seek impatiently the 

Passageway, men and women, children, porters, 

Pushing, talking, nervously; 

Motionless the train stands panting. Strange 
white faces 

Hurry by in eagerness. 

One in all the crowd is coming to me — now his 

Voice, his hands, and his caress ! 



LAC LEMAN 

Opal clouds o'er narrow sands 

Sink in a copper sea ; 
Mem'ries rise in mountain mists 

Drifting to ecstasy; 
Great night draws the sea and sky 

Folding their souls as one ; 
Love to love ! God to man ! 

Life's perfect rule be done. 



13 



OUT OF THE FAR-WAY 

Dreams in a drifting mist, a voice in the sunset 
breeze, 

Peace in the dim-veiled mountain peaks falls 
o'er the restless trees; 

Diamond-tipped, the crescent moon breaks 
through a fading cloud ; 

Eyes of the evening wake, o'er day in an opal 
shroud ; 

Night touches the silent lips of day ; the power 
of unseen hands 

Summons the dying soul of love to realms of far- 
away lands. 



14 



SYMPHONY 

Drowsy glades and somber shades echo the 

laughing pines ; 
Fairy tones and falling cones rustle the ivy 

vines. 
All the woods are deep in a noon-day sleep 
And the tree-trunks molding lie; 
The myrtles are hiding down by the side 
Of the willow trees that sigh. 
Cool winds stir the silver fir, waving their crests 

on high ; 
Early June brings forth her moon to ride an 

amber sky; 
Then the soft dusk falls and the young owl 

calls 
To the will-o'-the-wisps that fly, 
And the shadows meet at their dancing feet 
As the sprightly elves run by. 
Fairies sweet on mosses meet where jewel dews 

have lain — 
Incense land — none understand if they know 

not pain: 

15 



1 6 Symphony 

And the mystery of our ecstasy 

Springs up from the dampened earth, 

While the woodlands deep, in their dreamless 

sleep 
Are whispering songs of mirth. 



ON THE MOUNTAIN 

The frozen cataract's white fangs of crystalline 
Sparkle beneath the sun against the crested 

evergreen; 
The jagged rocks lay bare their icy pinnacles 
Under a vault of blue and white, that draws the 

frost unseen 
From lowland towns that slumber still and 

mountainous ravine. 

The silent hills stretch out like waves of stone; 

the snow- 
capped mountain peaks shadow the valleys 

through the mist, and go 
Behind the drifting clouds of fire and gold 

that race 
Across the waking sky. Then rise, man, from 

your sleep and show 
Dawn as a vision of Heaven, unto the world 

below. 



17 



OCTOBER 

Skies so blue they lend their color to the frosted 

world below, 
Tinting shadows azure, purple; thridding clouds 

like banks of snow ; 
Frosty nights of stars at arms' length, dawns of 

fire and then the glow 
Of Indian Summer dawning skies : 

Whirls of apple, dead leaves burning, blow 

around the chimney grate, 
Arbor grapevines laden purple, bend above a 

rustic gate; 
Colors riot through the asters and the sunbeams 

delicate 
Kiss Indian Summer butterflies. 

Dying corn-shucks stacked like soldiers hold 
their stately russet line; 
Leaf on leaf in scarlet, amber, falls from off the 
ivy vine; 
Drop by drop the blood falls slowly from this 
dying heart of mine — 
Love's Indian Summer sacrifice. 



18 



II 

In the Moonlight 



19 



GREATER THAN ALL ELSE 

Dear little hand about my finger tips, 

How could I know before you came 

How much a part of love you are? Dear lips 

Warm on my breast, am I to blame 

Because I could not know thee as thou art ? 

Eyes like the twilight stars, look up at me 

Innocently yet strangely wise. 

Surely a part of God's great mystery 

Beats in thy heart. I close my eyes 

In pain, so great this new love in my heart. 



21 



TO HEAR YOU LAUGH 

I've traveled 'cross the night ; the fireflies lit the 

way 
Among the shadowed leaves ; 
The highroad dust is on my feet ; my lips 
Are parched for water, yet I wait to hear you 

say 
One happy word ; I spend 
The starlight to the end ; 
I've come to hear you laugh. 

I cannot ask you if your days are filled with 

song, 
Yet I must know no pain 
Is lurking in your eyes while I stand by 
In idleness, afraid of circumstance. I long 
To know that tenderness 
Falls in your least caress; 
I've come to hear you laugh. 

As silently as darkness o'er an evening cloud 
I come to you, my heart 

22 



To Hear You Laugh 23 

On fire. I crush the heart-song on my lips 
And stand here mute, afraid to speak aloud 
Lest I should cause you pain: 
Love, I am here again; 
I've come to hear you laugh. 



THY CALL 

From dreams that brush my tired eyes, with 

mists of loveliness 
And fragrance from a wealth of wild-wood flowers 

newly blown, 
Into the velvet blackness of the night's deep 

wilderness 
I journey forth and mock the rolling thunder 

clouds alone, 
Because you call to me. 

From Life that shines on me in copper-colored 

radiance 
I turn aside, knowing no other light than love, 

no creed 
But thy desire; I come, then, slave to thy first 

word's utterance 
And lay immortal love beneath thy feet, knowing 

the need 
Thou hast of me to call. 

In Death I rise again from out vast solitude 
To follow thee in shadow form, holding thee 
close to me 

24 



Thy Call 25 

To lead thee back at length to God's great 

sanctitude; 
Soul bare to soul, and one at last throughout 

Infinity, 
Because you call to me. 



THE LETTER 

At last your letter comes, and with its coming, 

all the throbbing pain 
That lies within a joy too deep for smiles alone: 
Cold little words they seem, and yet your voice 

and laughter once again 
Echoes within my heart. There's something in 

the tone 
Of what you say that hints of such control that 

I grow sad 
And wonder if you dare not say what's in your 

heart. 
I love you all the more for such consideration, 

dear, and had 
I strength myself would crush mine own thoughts 

ere they start 
To hurt you in my answer. Yet there's just 

the chance that you may care to have me say 

all that I feel — 
I see your eyes, then, in the silent pathway of 

the stars at night, 
And hear your voice at dawning when I wake 

from sleep ; 

26 



The Letter 27 

I cherish ev'ry memory we hold in common, 

lest the light 
Of ev'ry day existence turn them gray. I keep 
The last touch of your hand a thing apart; the 

warmth of your caress 
Still brings the warm blood to my face, and still 

the ache 
I felt on leaving you burns in my throat, and all 

your tenderness 
Lives in my mind. And sometimes all my 

strength could break 
From longing for your touch again, your voice, 

your laughter, and your eyes ; 
But over us the star of love burns vividly — 
Our star — God put it there to light us on our 

road of sacrifice, 
And it shall burn for us throughout Eternity. 
So now good-night, Dearheart, look once and 

find the star that burns for us, and then 

with me to God, just kneel. 



A LOVER'S SONG 

The wish of the rose is the sun; 

And meadow grass longs for the dew; 
A weary moon calls for the dawn, 

But my call, Dearheart, is for you. 

The sandy beach longs for the sea; 

The cry of the sea is for rest ; 
And fog-banks are calling the wind, 

But I call you close to my breast. 

Snow mountain tops long for the sky, 
And valleys are sick for the rain; 

A song-sparrow cries for its mate, 
And I cry to see you again. 

The long summer days want evening, 
And nights want their silences deep ; 

The stars long to hold up the sky, 
But I long to hold you in sleep. 



28 



WHITE ONE 

You are fever on my lips, drying all my blood. 
'Til I'm parched with thirst for you, White One 

of the night ; 
You are pain within my throat, aching, burning 

there, 
'Til the thought of death grows sweet, White 

One of delight : 
You are pale, and cool, and still, lying in my 

arms; 
You are warm, and red, and gay, laughing at the 

dawn; 
At your touch I am a man, filled with youth and 

life, 
But my heart is old and torn after you have 

gone: 
You are fire within my breast, scalding all my 

veins ; 
You are waters cool and deep drawing all my 

strength ; 
You are weakness, you are strength, White 

One, you are love; 
You have made me what I am, make me yours 

at length. 

29 



TOGETHER INTO LIFE 

Hush! 

The thrush 

Is calling to its mate; 

Night is setting sail its star-filled ships ; 

Love! 

Above 

The dark is falling late; 

Fill me with the fragrance of your lips ; 

Let me forget the drumming of the world's cold 

song. 
Pale! 
The frail 

White rose is drooping now, 
Sick from breathing its own loveliness : 
Thrill 
And still 

The aching in my brow; 
Touch me with the fire of your caress ; 
Show me the love that aches to live this long 

night through. 
Wake! 
And make 

30 



Together into Life 31 

Our love a thing apart ; 

Mingle your soft breath with mine to-night ; 

Sleep! 

And weep 

A little then, Sweetheart ; 

Realization brings more than delight, 

Leading the way from adolesence into life: 

Trust! 

Adjust 

Your scheme of life to mine; 

I will keep you all in all to me, 

Care, 

And share 

My blood with yours like wine, 

To keep our married love an ecstasy 

I, as a lover will adore just you, my wife. 



THE SINGER 

What if you bar your gates, I know the way to a 
pool where I may see 
Your eyes within the bright reflection of the 
sky; 
What if you chose a stranger in your wanderings, 
if it makes you glad 
I'll go then, singing o'er the road for passers- 
by. 

What if the waning night lingers too long, I will 
wait in your garden 
Beside the blossoms of the heliotrope that 
bend 
With their own weight, calling your name in 
prayers that are stifled with my pain, 
But morn shall find me singing at the long 
road's end. 

What if you should not return but go on your 

way with another, 
I should not cry your name to emptiness, but 

crush 

32 



The Singer 33 

All of the rose's fragrance close to my frozen lips, 

mingling my song 
Throughout the summer with the long notes of 

the thrush. 

Though I die in pain if you find your happiness 

my songs rejoice; 
But night finds me longing for the dreams that 

go 
Back to the touch of your hands holding me 

through the night : but day by day 
The highroad is wearying for singers, I must 

go. 



SUPPLICATION 

Come back and touch me ere the pain 

Of loving thee is gone; 
All my intensity is vain 

Without thy laugh, thy song — 
I stagnate with the commonplace 

Dreading to wake alone, 
For I have known just thine embrace, 

Never an overtone; 
Dearheart, is not the sacrifice 

Too dear? Give me thy hand; 
Caress the fever from mine eyes 

And silent, understand. 



34 



AN APPEAL 

One look into my eyes, and I would under- 
stand, 
Ah why begrudge me this? 
Dearheart, I cannot ask the pressure of your 
hand, 
Your spoken word, or kiss, 
But just to know from you the truth — let it be 
now, then go 
Your busy way with men; 
Leave me to understand alone, knowing I know, 

What matter silence then? 
Or is it pride that makes you bar your heart to 
me, 
Feeling the wall between 
Us as you do? Look back, dear, at the past and 
see 
Just love. 'Twas nothing mean 
That made me leave your side. I loved you, 
dear, but you 
Impassive, let me go 
Beyond your call, create my interests anew. 
And you? — How could I know? 

35 



36 An Appeal 

And now that all is past, I long to know from 
thee 
The truth. Surely no stain 
Would fall on your white honor just to let me 
see; 
Is not your silence vain? 
Take down the barriers that stand before our 
feet 
Just once ; then pay the price 
Of knowing all. Together let us meet 
A common sacrifice. 



ONCE THINE 

Look back, Dearheart, into the memory we hold 

as one, 
And feel a warm breath trembling close to thee 

for day is done. 
Forget the long road winding far apart for thee 

and me, 
Lay bare thy soul, thy heart, just once to me 

in secrecy. 
For life would cheat us, dear, of all its best, that 

precious spark 
Of love. Once thine, then welcome all the 

rest of pain and dark. 



37 



HOW LONG? 

Beyond the walls of time that crumbling fall 

Will you be there in case we meet to call 

My name, and claim me thine from out the 

past? 
Such vital love as yours, dear, can it last? 

How long across the barriers of space, 
Strange customs, languages, and distant place, 
Can you hold sacred promises long made? 
The darkness falls, dear, I'm alone, afraid. 

Afraid lest time may rob us of the truth, 
And substitute for love just beauty, youth; 
Unnatural loneliness presents a test 
That all may fall beneath, even the best. 

I would forgive ourselves playing the game; 
Forgetting for the moment, if the same 
Deep overwhelming love could live on through 
The ev'ry days of life. Can it for you? 

Look back, Dearheart, and feel our love again, 
Poignant with hope, and sweet even to pain ; 
38 



How Long? 39 

The glow of dusk and firelight's on my face; 
I tremble 'neath your eyes and your embrace. 

Each day that passes leaves a scar of pain, 
And on the thread of life an aching strain 
Too great. Is it not so with you? Shall we 
Face years of this, cold but for memory. 

Or shall we crush out all that hurts and then 
Leave love to rot, taking our place with men 
As actors, bowing on the stage of fame? 
For me it is enough to love thy name. 

With you it may be diff 'rent, in your hand 
Is strength to govern men. I understand ; 
Accept all life, Dearheart; my lips are sealed; 
Mine eyes are closed to futures unrevealed. 



YOU 

You, who would have none of me, know that 

your laugh has echoed through each garden 

that I knew; 
You, who turned away from me, know that your 

voice has prayed for me each time I tasted 

grief : 
You, who turned your eyes like steel to mine in 

tears, I love the pain that you have given 

me: 
You, who have wrung the faith in God from out 

my soul and left me wandering, I love 

you: 
You, who live your life in joy while I must die in 

grief, burn but one candle on my bier. 



40 



ONE LAST WORD 

I cannot see thy face, Dearheart; the fire is 

low; 
Put on another log. 'Tis scarcely dawn, 

And this our last night here together. When 

you go, 
Go with a laugh upon your lips, the morn 
Gilding the skies. But now, one moment more 
or less 
What harm? It must be for all time we part. 
Our solemn word is given others. This caress 

Must be the last. See how the shadows dart 
And fate, frightened because they know the dawn 
is due. 
Ah ! love, look up at me ! To suffer there 
Prostrate before the fire is madness. Surely 
you 
And I have known great love. 'Tis only fair 
For us to pay our price. We are not cowards — 
we 
Who dared so much in life. No! Morning 
breaks ! 

41 



42 One Last Word 

I hear the rattling carts. Let's laugh in memory 
Of what was ours. We made our mad mis- 
takes 
And lost; but now all that is past. At last we 
know 
Our better selves. See ! I am smiling, love, 
Stand up and face the dawn. Just hold me! 
There ! Now go ! 



WHEN 

October. 

Goldenrod with asters swaying, russet, purple 

in the field ; 
Woods all flecked with amber, crimson, autumn 

touched and autumn sealed ; 
Meeting, would the spell of mem'ries draw you 

tome? Would you yield ? 

January. 

Stiff, stark branches black and frozen 'gainst a 

dreary winter sky ; 
Frosted roads long, bleak, and empty, lead from 

cold to cold and lie 
Naked to the blowing snowdrifts. Meeting, 

would you pass me by ? 

May. 

Orchards glowing rose-pink, fragrant bending 

over velvet green 
Meadow grass, where dogwood whitens 'gainst 

a sky aquamarine ; 
Meeting when the world is waking, would old 

shadows come between ? 
43 



44 When 

August. 

Sands salt-scented fade away to heat mirages, 

and the sea 
Shadowed amethyst and silver, foams a little 

playfully ; 
Meeting there, the world forgotten, would you 

give your love to me? 



Ill 

In the Firelight 



45 



AT THE END A MEETING 

As I sit before the hearthstone, watching em- 
bers turning gray, 

Underneath the blue and red flames dancing 

Time and place both fade away. 

And my chiffon peignoir glimmers in the flick'- 
ring shadow light; 

Heliotrope and columbine so fragrant, 

Clustered in a tight bouquet, 

Press their cool cheeks on my hot throat, bidding 
memories awake. 

Now beside a brook I wander in the 

Woodlands ; now I hesitate, 

Listening to a whistle in the distance. Now I 

laugh and run, 
Arms outstretched, to greet him, partner in 

youth's 
Sweet romance. Then a small snake, 
Sprawling near us in our pathway, starts and 

glides off aimlessly. 
How we laughed and watched his brown and 

yellow 
Markings blend into a tree. 
47 



48 At the End a Meeting 

Hand in hand, the warm blood racing through 

our veins, we ran and ran 
Through the ferns and o'er the pine-cones to a 
Lily pool, where secretly 
We swam, splashing in and out the deep cool 

water, laughing too, 
When the ooze sucked at our feet and held us 
Prisoners, 'til we'd rescue 
One another. Then exhausted, sleepy, we would 

bask awhile 
On the sun-kissed mosses, telling stories, 
Dreaming dreams that must come true. 

Now the shadows deepen, mists before my eyes 

have blurred my dream. 
Chill the room too, from the fog-wind blowing 
'Cross the marshlands; now a gleam 
From a falling log relights the vision. 

Standing on a dock, 
Crowded now with loved-ones, watching as the 
Steamer gathers strength to steam 
Silently away; within my throat an ache that 

burns and tears 
All strength from my heart: he goes; and, with 

his 
Going, youth for evermore 



At the End a Meeting 49 

Dies within my heart. He takes another with 

him. White and cold 
I turn away, facing pain that knows no 
Cure save Death's starless stream, or 
Time's slow, pitiless relief. — The days and weeks, 

all colorless 
Pass by, bringing no explanation, no 
Word of him, and my distress, 
Turning into bitterness, leaves me devoid of 

every wish 
Save one — seeing, with my eyes awakened, 
Life's cold world of ugliness. 

Shutters creak about my cottage; rafters moan 

so dolefully 
In the wind, that half-afraid I listen 
Tense in vague expectancy. 
Then to see the doors and windows barred, and 

put another log 
On the altar of my dreams. 

I see now 

Little faces eagerly 

Looking into mine with laughing starlike eyes; 

then baby hands 
Reaching to me, begging me to take them, 
Yet they cannot understand; 



50 At the End a Meeting 

Babies all who have no home, no mother-love; 

willingly I'd 
Die to call them mine, yet I can but play each 
Day with them in wonderland. 
Knowing them I learn to love anew, but with a 

love grown old. 
Seeing their loneliness makes my sorrow, 
Like a dampened flame, grow cold. 
Laughing, yes, and happy in my work among the 

poor, I lay 
Grief aside as wicked. Real life offers 
Us such problems to unfold, 
Why waste time in useless longing for a dream 

that might have been. 

Now that I am old and useless with no 

Part to play in man's routine, 

I may dream my dreams at evening in the em- 
bers' dancing light; 

Dream my dreams and let my heart break in 
the 

Darkness here alone, unseen. 

How the wind blows ! How the dampness creeps 

in through the crevasses ! 
Hear the dead waves in the distance sounding 
Never ending restlessness ! 



At the End a Meeting 51 

Somewhere from the depths, white hands reach 

starward ; somewhere voices call ; 
I can see them — hear them, and my soul in 
Death seeks their unhappiness. 

Someone knocks ! — Surely 'tis no one ! — yet I hear 

them at the door, 
Knocking, knocking rapidly. I'll see then 
Who it is. But no, before 
I go I will straighten out my laces, brush away 

my tears. 
Wait then ! I am coming. See, I turn the 
Key. No doubt 'tis some footsore 
Traveler. But no! The door swings open. — 

Oh my God! 'Tishe! 
He who stands here, arms outstretched to take 

me, 
Hold me, silent, tenderly — 
Love's too strong and I'm too weak now. 

Depths are calling ! I must go ! 
Even his strong arms can't keep me. Death is 
Calling, calling me to sea. 

"No, no words, just kiss me, kiss me. In your 

arms, dear, let me cry. 
All's forgotten — all's forgiven. Hold me — hold 

me — let me die." 



THE LAST DREAM 

(Of Childhood) 

Once more to pass the rustic gate, once more 
To seek the meadows hidden by the hedge, 
And rest in the ragged field of goldenrod 
And scrubby pine-trees marshaled in a line 
Guarding the stillness of a happy world. 
Where every day together you and I 
Built iridescent castles in our dreams. 

(Of Adolescence) 

Blue Heaven rippled by a thousand clouds; 
Stillness, and sparkling mountain air, and all 
The valleys outlined purple 'gainst the hills; 
Once more to touch you, hold you, listen to 

your 
Voice echoed on the cliff across the lake, 
And wander homeward to the little freshly 
Painted town where fragrant wood-smoke curls 

from 
Out the red brick chimney tops as evening 
Falls. Once again with you beneath the hills 
52 



The Last Dream 53 

Alone, while the clear-eyed stars watch over us 
And light the long still evenings that we spend 
Each heart to each, brave in our untried faith. 

(Of Full Life) 

Once more the hot breath of the city streets, 

Stifling the little sufferers as they lie 

Wide-eyed and pale, the nervous crowds seek out 

Their destinations, weary at the close 

Of day, and I, I wander listlessly, 

Waiting your departure that I and my pain 

May seek oblivion in the tangle of 

Men's lives unknown to you. — You pass, and in 

The flicker of the street lamp I can see 

Your eyes smiling into his. Now in the night's 

Hot stillness I am there again beside 

A wharf as the smooth water glides by at my 

feet; 
Deep night and the rain, and a dawn that holds 

part 
Of all the darkness of the night, and you, 
You are gone. — 

(Of Old Age) 

Firelight thrids the dusk; my lamp 
Is flick'ing in a breath of wind that brings 



54 The Last Dream 

The voices of your children to my ear. They 
Are coming to my door to beg me tell 
Stories. Once again I hear their laughter as 
They cluster round me. Once again I see 
Your eyes in theirs, and hear your voice ringing 

in 
Their own. I kiss and send them back to you, 
Warmed by the imprint of their little hands, 
And warm within my heart because they love 
Me too. 

In my room all the blinds are drawn ; I 
Am waiting for the night to bring me rest. 
And you, are you tired too? Soon you will 

come 
And lay your hand in mine. — Beyond the sea, 
The white line of the sky is clear; I know 
That you will come, for I have waited long. 



AN OLD MAN'S SONG 

Oh! little singing bird, the song within thy 

throat 
Is tuned to wake the violets; each trembling 

note 
Bids frightened butterflies spread out their 

gauzy wings 
And seek the sun. There is no messenger that 

sings 
Of Spring as thee. Sing on of love for I am 

old. 

Oh! little singing bird, I call thee Chickadee 
Because thy merry voice is as a child's to me; 
Sing on thy laughing summer song; the fall is 

nigh, 
And soon, my singing bird, both you and I shall 

die; 
Sing on of love, my Chickadee, for I am old. 



55 



IN THE SOUTH WIND 

I stood within a garden of noonday shadows 

deep, 
Where lotus buds were drooping in winds that 

whispered sleep ; 
The sands were flecked with silver by pools 

aquamarine, 
And ivy vines entwining caressed the mosses 

green; 
The south wind in the hedges murmured in 

undertone 
To leave the lighted highway and live for love 

alone. 



56 



THE LOST PRAYER 

The lost prayer of a soul is spent 

On voiceless winds that sweep 
From barren heights past man's ascent, 

And swaying forests deep, 
To valleys dim in meadow mists 

And citied lands of toil, 
Cross opal sands that lie wave-kissed — 

An ocean's naked spoil — 
Beyond, as midnight sea and earth 

Are lost in mystery, 
Dream-children of a soul have birth 

In solemn harmony. 



57 



TO A CIGARETTE 

Slim white enchantress, 

With fiery eye, 
Frail tissue temptress, 

Thy lovers would die 
Craving thee, braving 

Thee, even as I. 

See how I press thee 
And play with thee yet ; 

Loving, caress thee 
My own paper pet ; 

Slender and tender 
Countess Cigarette. 

Dangerous Darling, 
The touch of thy tips 

Keeps me from starving; 
There, close to my lips 

Thrill me and still me 
With opiate sips. 
58 



To a Cigarette 59 

Gypsy Godiva, 

All white save thine eye; 
Dearest Deceiver, 

Thy lovers would die 
Kissing thee, missing 

Thee, even as I. 



MASQUES 

A SKETCH 

Time — Moonlight . 
Scene — On a Terrace. 
Characters — He 

She 

Others 

(Six or eight masqued couples, in fancy dress, 
are waltzing to and fro across the terrace. Moon- 
light and shadows fall across them. The strains 
of a waltz drift through the trees. The music 
ceases.) 

The Host. Ladies and gentlemen, I beg you 

cease 
This modern dance ; the moonlight is 

too bright, 
Come, let us dream awhile of old 

romance, 
And choose our partners for a minuet. 

(Laughter amongst the group, as the partners 
are chosen, but another is before Him, and draws 
60 



Masques 61 

Her away. The minuet music starts and the 
dance begins. Towards the close of the minuet, 
He steps on Her dress, tearing the lace. The 
dance ceases and the others draw away into the 
shadows.) 

He Canst thou forgive me? See I have 

torn thy dress 
So misty white and cloud-like that I 

fain 
Would weave the silken tissue back 

again 
And have thee smile thy pardon down 

on me. 

She Hearing thee speak such words of 

penitence 
Is worth far more than laces. Do I 

know 
Thee? Are we but strangers here, 

meeting by chance 
Behind two masques, and is the thrill 

I feel 
On hearing thy voice but the spell of 

the night ? 

He Dear Lady, whiter than the whitest 

star, 



62 Masques 

Something's familiar in thy loveli- 
ness, 

And yet I cannot call thy name. 
Can there 

Be madness in the wanton wind, 
lighting 

A spark of love between us suddenly ? 

Here in the shadowlight, come dream 
with me 

Of night that whispers secrets man 
should know. 

She Promise thou wilt not lift the 

masque from off 
My face, and I will stay. No one 

must know 
Me for I am not free to touch thy 

hand. 
Yet for one moment more or less, 

what harm? 
Promise thou wilt not lift the masque 

from off 
My face. 

He And I am no more free than thou, 

Neither shall know the other, yet the 
woods 



Masques 63 

Shall know us both and keep our 

secret deep 
Within its shade. 

She Shadowed by fir-trees sighing, softly, 

we 
Will wander hand in hand apart 
From life and the insincere laughter 

of men. 
We'll dance o'er jewel moonbeam 

paths, 
Winding through scented groves 

where lotus lie 
On rippling ponds; we'll sip the 

night- 
Mist from the brook, and count each 

icy star 
That melts within the flames of 

dawn. 
Dreaming to-night will make the 

morrow sweet ; 
No day can make us e'er regret 
This magic hour. 

He Love at thy call I am here. 

My heart awakens from stagnant 
sleep 



64 Masques 

Hearing thee speak, and elves are 

dancing through 
My blood ; my youth has come again 
Poignant with love's intensity. Love 

I 
Must touch thee e're the ache within 

my throat 
Crushes my breath. 

She Masque, thou art mad with the 

moon 
That falls in veils of misty light 
About our eyes— 

He Yes, and 'tis thee whom I love! 

She Touch not my lips, but rather lay 

thy cool 
(Music from below the terrace.) 

Hand on my cheek. Fever and 

lightning dart through 
My veins, and I am trembling here to 

be 
Within thine arms. {Goes to him.) 

Dance with me ! Moments like 

these 
Are dearer than Eternity. Passion's 



Masques 65 

Exquisite flower pours out her fra- 
grance 

Before us. Come! — Into the moon- 
light ! Dance ! 

(They dance away to a Bohemian melody. At 
the end of the dance she falls exhausted, he bends 
over her and lifts her in his arms. The night 
turns gray; the dawn breaks amber and rose.) 

He Look to the East! A flame of red 

burns all 
The sky. The pale stars trembling, 

fade, and morn, 
Waking the world from dreams of 

ecstacy, 
Will part us all too soon . 

She A moment now 

Beside thee ; then into the empty light 

of 
Day, I into a home where love has 

died 
Leaving just ashen memories to 

wake 
In silent shadows. Every day and 

night 



66 Masques 

Spends its unthinking hours in 

commonplace 
Reality. I do not dare to dream 
Fearing the pain that would arise on 

thoughts 
Of tenderness. Yet I am starved for 

love. 

He E'en so within my home. I too am 

starved ; 
Unthinking she and I have drifted on 

'til 
I, who am her husband, know her 

least of all 
The world. 

She How strange that men should suffer 

so, 

Dying perhaps, rather than voice 
their heartache, 

Or beg one touch, one look to kindle 
love. 

So it will be until the hungry meet 

Each other, just as we have done, 
strangers 

Seeking we know not what, but satis- 
fied 



Masques 67 

To glow beneath each others' touch 
awhile. 

He Morning has climbed from under- 

neath the world 

And the blue sky from the folds of 
night; 

So you have drawn my soul to you. 
Just with 

Your fragrant hands you've swept 
away the dust 

From Life's highway ; now as I go my 
way 

Perhaps I'll look at men and smile 
once more. Who knows? 

She Touch me again that I may take a 

spark 
Of this new love away with me. 

Crush me 
That I may wake to-morrow hurting 

from 
The force of thine embrace. I've 

starved so long. 

He Promise you will not let the memory 

Of me, a masquer, make you sad. 



68 Masques 

Think of my love as hovering by 

you. 
In every moment that you seem 

alone 
Feel my voice whispering, "I love 

you." In 
The night-time when you long to 

hear a voice 
Singing to you of love, for silently 
I follow in each path-way that you 

go, 
Counting the dust from off thy feet 

as gold. 
No night shall pass but that I bend 

my knees 
Before you, lest thou suffer loneliness ; 
No day but that I beg thee let me 

serve. 
Give me thy last caress in promise 

that 
Thou wilt not grieve! 

She Speak not of parting yet, 

Morning has scarcely stirred the 

sleeping birds 
With its soft wind. The shadows 
dart and fade, 



Masques 69 

Frightened because they know the 

morn is here. 
But thou art not as cowardly as 

they, 
Stay with me but a moment more, 

this night 
Has been a dream, an intermission 

of 
Life's dull routine. You do not know 

my name; 
I would not have you know, more 

beautiful 
This madness as it is. Give me thy 

hand! 

He Think 'st thou I do not know thy 

name? I know 

It well. All night the stars have 
spelled it out 

In stones of fire across the sky : the 
wind 

Whispered thy secret to me e're thou 
laid 

Thy hand in mine. I knew thee 
when thou ran 

Laughing and smiling 'cross the ball- 
room floor. 



70 Masques 

She Who am I then? 

He First promise that thou wilt 

Not retract this love thou hast given 
me! 

(She goes to him and kisses him; He takes 
her in his arms and holds her to him, pushing 
her at arm's length he exclaims — ) 

Thou art my wife ! And I adore thee ! 
(Embrace each other.) 

Curtain 



IV 
In the Dark 



71 



AFTER ALL 

Madness, a voice half prayer, half song, 
Passion, an empty gain of hands, lips, eyes; 

Awakening, a price, a long 
Road winding on to sacrifice, 

And then regret — 

But yet, 

Can this be Love? 

A row of shadow shapes throughout 
The fog passing in silence one by one, 

A wisp of light, a laugh, a doubt, 
A pile of ashes in the sun 

Smoulders regret ; 

And yet, 

Can this be Life? 



73 



ANOTHER STAR 

Tall white candles burning on a snow-white 
altar piece, 
Over the Cross a golden shaft of sunlight 
falls; 
Silence, rows of wide-eyed little boys, whose 
whispers cease 
When, from the vaulted depths, an organ's 
thunder calls 

Echoes of God to earth. 

Kneeling here, his small white hands enclasped, 
his eyes shut tight, 
A child whispers a prayer; "Oh, give her back 
to me, 
Dear God, or let me go to her. " An acolite 
Puts out each candle, bowing low. Then 
silently 

The people turn to go. 

Gold and rose light mingle with the dusk; night 
and its shadows start 
To wrap the world in folds of gray close to their 
breast. 

74 



Another Star 75 

Little boy who prayed so for thy mother's 

touch, God saw thy heart 
And took thee up into her arms again. So 

rest. 

Another star is born. " 



MASTER ONE 

New leaves that lie unborn throughout the frost 

open their fragrant lips to taste the sun ; 
The hollow stillness of the cloudless night is 

guarded by the wakeful stars that gaze 
Into the fathomless abyss that hangs above the 

world; and Thou, Great Silent One, 
Rekindles warmth within the branches of the 

trees, making the sap like foaming wine 
Run to the smallest feather tip that rides the 

sunny air. The grass sips in the dew 
And carpets all the fields with green. The dusty 

earth sends forth its weeds to feed the 

birds 
Who mate and breed their young. The winter 

skies of gray grow old and dying, leave 

the blue 
And white of summer as a canopy of light above 

the earth. It is Thy will 
To lengthen shadows as the day blends fire-lit 

sunsets with the purple of the night ; 

It is Thy voice that sounds in thunder clouds, 

Thine eyes that look on us in lightning as 
76 



Master One 77 

We tremble at what seems Thy pitiless rebuke, 

yet weakest wild-wood buds invite 
The violence of storms, knowing far more than 

we, who cannot see beyond the length 
Of our own shadows on the road. Nature and 

Thee are One, and we are prisoners, 
Held by our bodies in the dark apart. And Thou, 

who art Thou then, and is Thy strength 
Strength after all? And is our every weakness, 

weak? — Such questions come from lips of 

fools. 
Man cannot make the day less sultry, or an hour 

less long ; man cannot wake the sod 
And make it yield a rose. The soul of life itself 

is still a mystery to all 
Beyond the reach of carnate minds; yet some 

men dare to doubt that Thou, Great Master 

One, art God. 



SUICIDES 

The river dark'ning, winds on to the bay ; 
The greenish swirls are gathering about the piles 
That, rotting, totter in each wind that blows 
Upon their oily boards. An ugly boat 
Rocks up and down, and shivers in the trough 
Of waves from tide and wind — a boat that waits 

beside 
A net to gather unimaginable forms 
By day and night, that drift, not knowing, out 

to sea. 
Ten thousand see the light that shines within 
The stars, as if some one were smiling in the 

sky; 
But they see not, who float on out to sea ; 
Love smiles and lays a baby hand upon the 

breast 
Of some, but they feel not the warmth, who 

drift 
On silently. A few may cry their name, but 

they 
Hear not, nor wait, but as a derelict, 
Float with the tide that eddying goes out to sea. 
78 



OVER ALL 

Surging tide, and one small boat, 
Waters dark, the wind's shrill note, 
Strength to strength, a prayer to Fate, 
Closing eyes, lips supplicate, 
Circumstances grimly cold, 
Hopes that keep an anchor hold, 
Love to light the passageway, 
Masques of Death in iron gray, 
Wreckage drifts, and derelicts 
On Life's sea of lost conflicts, 
But God's there above it all, 
To pilot us at evenfall. 



79 



RETROSPECT 

Oh little rainbow-windowed chapel on the 

hill, 
Tell me, thy child of long ago, thy secret 

will; 
Is there no pen to write again the thoughts that 

thrilled 
Our youth? Is there no echo of the voice that 

stilled 
Our breaking childish hearts, or taught us lisping 

prayers 
To God, who understood enough of all our 

cares 
To give us dolls or mend a broken china cow? 
Speak little rainbow-windowed chapel on the 

hill, 
Speak with thy cob-web belfry-bell thy secret 

will. 

Oh blowing Autumn orchard, wind-tossed in the 

rain, 
Will you and I know love and blossoms e'er 



again? 



80 



Retrospect 81 

Is there no way that I may feel the warmth once 

more 
Of vital days, dear in my memory, but lost 

before 
I knew their beauty, or half understood their 

power — 
Days that I look upon and say, "It might have 

been, " while hours 
Are creeping stealthily between the then and 

now. 
Oh Autumn orchard, wind-tossed, blowing in 

the rain, 
Will you and I know love and blossoms e'er 

again? 



A LITANY 

Give Faith to men in war ! 

And women strength in birth ! 
Return us love once more 

In peace again on earth ! 
Touch fever-stricken eyes ! 

Put out the lights of sin ! 
Ennoble sacrifice! 

Let brave hearts win ! 
Return to us the loss 

Of love, and life, and soul ! 
Teach us to bear our cross 

With infinite control ! 
Teach us to win the race 

To an Eternal goal 
Where all stand face to face 

With one vast Over-Soul ! 



82 



THE DECEIT OF IT ALL 

So this is all ! This is to be the end of all except 

thy wrath ! 
Like children's bubbles blown from out a pewter 

bowl 
To ride the air awhile and cast their liquid jewels 

on the hearth — 
No more or less your love ; while mine awoke my 

soul. 
Was it your fault? I cannot help but ask. 

Did not we steal too much, 
And crush the beauty that was ours in shadow 

ways? 
Deceit in love brings mental sluggishness where 

all is in the touch, 
Lest thinking deeply bring us to the better 

phase 
Of love where reason dominates and passion's 

laid aside. 
We cannot realize our love by night and be 
Ashamed of it by day. So you and I, before the 

whole world wide 

83 



84 The Deceit of It All 

Should have proclaimed to man our secret 

unity. 
For as it was, little by little, I could feel the chill 

creep through 
My heart as you would draw away pleading 

fatigue, 
Or lack of time. Sometimes you'd start in 

anger at a foot-step through 
The door. Your silence told me you despised 

intrigue 
And soon all of the little things I tried to do or 

say were wrong. 
One day I dropped a loved book from my 

finger tips 
Breaking the fine morocco. You were kind 

and kept on with your song 
But I could see your muscles tighten, and your 

lips 
Were hard before you forced a smile. Then 

someone knocked, and guiltily 
You held the door ajar, lying to one who came 
To chat with you. I understood you, dear, 

and felt the misery 
Of subterfuge, and yet in spite of all, the 

same 
Old love made me forget all else, outweighed each 

petty dissonance 



The Deceit of It All 85 

And being thine within my soul I knew no other 

creed 
Save loving thee. What harm to other men our 

disobedience? 
God in his Heaven understands and knows our 

need 
Of being true unto the best within us. — Yet all's 

said and done 
And now there is this failure : not that love were 

wrong 
But rather that deception gnawed into our minds. 

The open sun 
Must shine on love to keep it sweet, and truth 

must be its song. 



MOODS 

Man's but a futile pawn, a crumbling fleck of 

dust 
That drifts from square to square, bearing the 

stain of tears and rust ; 
To-day erases yesterday ; to-morrow knows 
No memory except its own. Man plays at life 

and goes 
Blindfolded to the end, an unseen wheel within a 

wheel. 

My heart is there on sandy shores where shadows 

play 
Across the dunes, where south winds sing 

throughout the day 
Of love beyond the sun. My prayers are there 

in mist 
That draws the salt-scent from the sea. My 

soul's an Arabist 
And builds its tent of dreams in far-off islands 

of romance. 

Dark falls across the city walls, and you are 
there 

86 



Moods 87 

Before me in the dusk. One touch, and thy love 

unaware 
Would come to me; hands that are cooler than 

the pale moon-flower, 
Touch not mine eyes where fever lights of passion 

glower ; 
Look to the field of stars until my soul returns 

thy glance. 

The moment now is real. Look to the depths 

and see 
God moving there. Stoop not to vain regret, the 

master key 
To life's experience. Count nothing lost. The 

best 
Of men stand face to face with pain ; he who can 

bear the test 
Of grief shall win at length. God, high in 

Heaven, let us kneel ! 



THE LONG ROAD 

The long road desolate 

Winds through the forest, and the night is still; 

The cross-roads join the main 

Pointing to hidden opportunity ; 

The long road desolate 

Leads to the little stones of white behind 

An open iron gate. 

Where is the light ? The wood 

Is dark; the lanterns in the sky are out; 

The rain falls through the leaves ; 

Weary, the flowers droop their heavy blooms; 

Their fragrance turns the night 

Wind's breath into an opiate beside 

The long road desolate. 

Where is the end, and death, 
Brushing the burning dust from off my lips ? 
I lay my fire-dreams down, 
Seeking the deep cool water's edge. Are there 
No rainbow vestments for 
Toilers that fall too soon beside the long 
Road desolate called Life? 
88 



THE RUN 

Black ! Black ! Into the black ! 
Our headlights flashing on ! 
On ! On ! Over the track 
That stretches to the dawn ! 
Down ! Down ! Where all is still 
In mists within the vale ! 
Up! Up! Over the hill 
We trace our winding trail. 
Speed ! Speed ! The throttle wide ! 
'Round curve and on the straight; 
Fast ! Fast ! Through countryside, 
City and town. Let's wait; 
No ! No ! The road is wide — 
Swerve for that aimless dog! ! 
Now on ! Watch out ! The side 
Is hidden by the fog : 
Plunge ! Plunge ! Into the dip, 
The wet wind in our face; 
Race ! Race ! A record trip ! 
The road is ours to trace. 
There! There! The fog is gone; 
The air is clear. Let's go — 
89 



90 The Run 

Go! Go! We'll meet the dawn 
Beyond the hill. Let's show- 
Speed ! Speed ! The speed that makes 
A record — Mind the bridge ! ! 
Brakes ! Brakes ! Jam on your brakes ! 
Ah— Left now to the ridge 
That in the shadow lies 
Beneath old Stony Hedge, 
Winds ! Winds ! Within our eyes 
My God, man ! Ugh ! The ledge ! ! ! 

Space ! Space — Spaces that float — 
No sound — No pain — No breath — 
Blood — Blood — Blood in our throat — 
Blackness — The fog — And death — 



TOO MUCH FOR A WORD 

Give my thy hand. There, draw thy chair 
beside my bed. One last word more ; 

My last day's sun is setting. All is dusk. Fire- 
shadows 'cross the floor 

Are flickering; they tire my burning eyes and I 
must close them. There, 

Come close. Thou art my son, and I must say 
one say , and pray one pray 

With thee alone before I go; for I, no longer I, 
would know 

Within the vast beyond, that thou, living thy 
vital life below, 

Art surely owner of thy mother's last love 
word. 

Through all thy dealings in the world with 

worldly men, just understand 
Their games, their motives. Be not fooled by 

sham success ; throughout the land 
The man who wins is he who runs the race 

straightforward to the end, 
Not falling to alluring, doubtful schemes. The 

others who offend 

9i 



92 Too Much for a Word 

The laws, may win to thy snap judgment but 

mean dealings never win 
The real success. Be wise; say little; feel thou 

all ; to damn is vain. 
Come closer, darling. There. My fevered eyes 

are blurred. 



Above all things, be brave. Just knowing fear 
is no excuse to shun 

A task ; count not thy life as one of such import- 
ance. Never run 

Away in mind or body from the dangerous. 
Each time thou give 

Thy life to help another, thou art once again a 
man. So live 

And smother all thy weaker self. See every- 
thing, the right and wrong, 

And understand, trying thine own strength, 
dear, to know it really strong. 

And should thou fail, then feel thou none the 
nearer God. 

And when thy heart first yearns to feel the thrill 

of woman's touch, be true 
Unto thy best. Stand firm, and do no mad 

thing all because it's new 



Too Much for a Word 93 

And seems a vital part of life. Pretending love 

will desecrate 
Thy heart, and cheapen all thy soul may long 

to give. Then hesitate 
A little lest thy happiness be marred by too 

much playing. Youth 
Under the open skies, laughing the long days 

through will find the truth. 
Be just a boy, my boy, — Thy hand — My breath 

comes hard. 

For love will come to thee ere long. Unthinking 

thou wilt find thy one, 
And thee and she wilt come into thine own. 

Then play the game, my son ; 
Think twice of her to once of thine own self. 

Give all. Take what she gives 
Thee freely. Love is the most delicate of 

flowers and it lives 
In atmospheres where free thoughts, dear, con- 
sideration, and respect 
Are habits of the mind. Cherish thy least 

romance. Never neglect 
The little things of love. And be thou true 

through all. 

And then when children come to thee, give to 
their youth thy youth, nor take 



94 Too Much for a Word 

Their hearty foolishness as serious. Know the 

new age, and make 
Thyself alive to understand thy children's 

pleasures and their pain. 
Rule them through dignity and love ; show them 

thy sportsmanship and strain 
Of humor — Dear, the fever draws — a waving 

film before mine eyes 
Makes all things dim, e'en thy dear face. Would 

that my soul could sacrifice 
Its peace to watch o'er thee. Kiss me. The 

shadows fall 

Dear God above — Watch over him and keep 

him close to thee, and let him feeling 
Thee, know all the best, the truth. A mother's 

love on earth is done — here kneeling 
Hand in hand, we pray thee — Now, all's said 

and done. Come close once more. Life's 

sun is low; 
Love me and feel my love above thee always — 

All's blackness. Now the light — I go. 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Sept. 2009 

PreservationTechnologie; 

A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATIOI 

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Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724)779-2111 



